Behind Her Smile
by bankka
Summary: She joins the team with all the enthusiasm in the world, gaining new friends and the attention of her escorting detective. But as her dark secret rises to the surface, seperating work from her personal life has become harder than she would want it to be..
1. So Much For The Perfect First Day

**+ Behind Her Smile  
**+ chapter one: 'So Much For The Perfect First Day'

* * *

_  
Ignoring her screams and darting her flailing appendages, he jammed his lips onto hers. She resisted, using all her might and slapped him clean across the face. Pinning her arms down, he looked at her square into the eyes. Blood seeped through her lips as they overflowed her mouth. She spat it out twice, once onto the cold tile floor and again onto his face._

"_You disgusting bitch," he yelped, using one hand to wipe away the grime and the other to slap her face to the floor. The pain tearing through her head eased her shrieks. He pulled her by the hair, closer to his face. She peered with pure hatred deep into his eyes. A smile manifested onto his dark, grubby face. His chuckles were raspy. _

_"You're mine," he reminded her. "And there's nothing you can do about it."_

* * *

The winter breeze screamed to her face as she swung the cab door open. Her senses suddenly rejuvenating after what seemed like hours on the streets, she slipped under the head rest the taxi driver's change.

"Keep it," she said as she stepped onto the pale gray pavement. She glanced at her watch. Eight twenty-five. Hastily wrapping her scarf around her neck, she jogged towards the grand building in front of her and through its clear glass entrance. Damn New York City traffic. New or not, she knew better than to show up late for work. Fear of how her tardiness would affect her reputation with her new boss started to sink in. Her heart thumped hard. Lab employees walking by, along with the sight of the different levels of the building from the lobby's view made her dizzy. Her palms sweated, her knees wobbled. She frowned at her anxiety. This wasn't normal for her. Maybe it was something she ate? She didn't have breakfast…perhaps what she had for dinner? Or what was in her dinn —

"Erica!" The sound of her name pierced through her confused state of mind. She spun around, catching the sight of her new boss walking towards her. Noticing a grin on his face, she knew the day might be looking up sooner than she expected.

"Mr. Taylor," she sighed in relief, holding her hand out. Mac grasped it tightly and shook. A mighty strong grip, she thought to herself.

"Please, it's Mac," he insisted.

Erica smiled nervously. "I want to apologize for being late –"

Placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder, Mac interrupted. "It's perfectly fine, Erica. This city is not too merciful itself."

After receiving a quiet chuckle from his new recruit, Mac led her towards the elevator as he started filling her in about the facilities of the New York City Crime Lab. From the autopsy room to the canteen, the ballistics lab to the lounge, Erica forced herself to get into the feel of her new workplace, despite her lightheadedness. Upon meeting an array of people she strained a smile on her face. Mac introduced to her to a Steven Finnegan, a Tara something, a Sheldon…Hawkes, was it? Sid something, a Lindsay Monroe, Wes Newman…

* * *

Coffee fumes filled Erica's nostrils and relaxed her mind as she slumped onto the soft burgundy sofa of the lab lounge. Damn, her head hurt. It surprised her how it only took less than an hour of a building tour to knock her out completely. She usually wasn't like this. By now she'd still walking about, introducing herself to her new colleagues. But at the moment she didn't even have the strength to stand up.

A deep, scratchy accented voice came from the lounge entrance behind her.

"Don't tell me work's pooping you out already."

Erica looked over her shoulder and smiled lazily. She brought herself to her feet as a man bearing accentuated arms and a childish smirk extended his hand.

"Danny Messer," he added as Erica grasped his hand. "Erica Donovan, I presume?"

Erica gave him a toothy grin as she set down her coffee cup. "Yep, that's me. The new kid."

"Well you've got nothing to worry about. We'll help you out – new kids are appreciated around here," Danny replied, allowing his eyes to trail down Erica's body. The dark chocolate hair…straight of out a _Sunsilk_ commercial. The brown eyes…foxy. The rose lips…sultry, Danny tilted his head to the side. The ass…

"DANNY! I saw that!"

Lindsay Monroe came up from behind Erica, her hands gripped to her waist.

"Hey Lindsay…" Erica greeted, her eyes darting from Lindsay to Danny.

"Hey Erica," Lindsay responded, her voice softening as she pried her sight from Danny's guilt-stricken face. "Sorry about this dog running loose," she continued, nodding towards him. She walked past Erica and gave Danny a slap on the chest, who wrestled her into a tight hug.

"So you two have met?" Danny said as Lindsay wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Yeah, not too long ago," Erica answered, smiling at their playfulness. She picked up her coffee cup and took a sip. The heat tingled down her throat. "Anyways, I think I better get started on work. It was nice meeting you guys." She turned around and started towards the door.

"We'll be around if you need help!" Lindsay called after her.

Erica looked over her shoulder and gave them a wink of appreciation.

Lindsay gave Danny another smack on the chest before looking at him straight into the eyes.

"What was that stunt you were trying to pull a minute ago? Were you staring at her ass?"

Danny slowly grinned at his girlfriend's agitation. "I think someone's jealous…"

Lindsay snorted. "Please. I'm not jealous."

"Montana, you're fun to upset," he teased as he pulled her in for another hug. "I was just observing the bodily features of our new coworker with mere…approval."

Arms linked around his middle, Lindsay looked up with admiration into his eyes and couldn't help but return the grin. His absurdity was amusing to her. "Well, for the record, I too 'approve' her ass. It's really nice."

In mocking anger Danny pulled away from her, pursing his lips as her laugh rang in his ears. "Okay, now I'm worried. Are you physically attracted to another woman? Because, you know…" he turned and faced her directly, "…that's kinda hot."

Mouth hanging open at Danny's immaturity, she punched him softly in the abdomen. She scoffed. "This conversation is getting too weird. I'm leaving."

Lindsay strode past him, startling him with a teasing slap on his behind.

"Behave yourself, cowboy."

"I love you too, Montana."

* * *

"Manual strangulation."

Erica snapped out her reverie. "What?" Her headache was getting worse.

Sid peered at her inquiringly through his glasses. Erica mentally cursed at herself. So much for the perfect first day.

"I'm sorry…dead bodies just take some getting used to, I guess," she apologized, biting her lip. Hopefully he wouldn't notice her lacking concentration. Imagine the results on her initial employee assessment.

Erica breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing Sid's assuring laugh.

"Don't worry about it. Although, correct me if I'm mistaken, but surely this isn't your first day on the actual job, right? Weren't you transferred from the Trenton crime lab?"

Racking her brain through the fog of her dizziness, Erica nodded. "Yes, that's correct, but I spent most of my time there as a crime lab technician. Two years."

She grimaced as she watched Sid slice off the DOA's fingers for fingerprint documentation, not from the sight, but from her own pain.

"So you really aren't too used to autopsies then," Sid responded, not taking his eyes away from the corpse.

"Despite everything, I'm still not. At least not this close," answered Erica, rolling her eyes to the ceiling. She closed her eyes tight. What a liar she was. She could handle autopsies, let alone dead bodies. She just didn't want to expose how unwell she was. Surely they would excuse her for the day…but for the next would they want her back?

"So how long exactly were you working on the field?" Sid continued, failing to notice her uneasiness.

"Um…In Jersey, I was promoted to a criminalist eight months before I moved here." This time, it was the truth.

"I see," Sid commented, straightening his back and turning towards Erica as she opened her eyes again. Erica glanced at him and smiled.

"Anyways, I'm sorry. You were saying?"

"Ah yes. Manual strangulation is the COD."

"So Jane Doe died of asphyxia," Erica replied, finally managing to get her head into the game.

"Exactly. See these contusions here," Sid pointed his pinky to a couple of circular bruises on the front of the DOA's throat, "and here." He pointed to both sides of the neck. "The attacker used both hands, the forefingers and the thumbs, to strangle our victim," Sid demonstrated, wrapping his hands around his own throat, "damaging the trachea."

Erica's hand jerked to her neck, catching both Sid and herself by surprise.

"Erica, are you okay?" Sid asked with concern, laying his hand on her back. Erica suddenly drifted into a trance, staring ahead into space. Thoughts of that night seeped into her mind. That terrible, terrible night…

"Erica?" Sid shook her shoulder gently, once again taking Erica back to reality. She sighed in frustration and rubbed her temple.

"I'm so sorry Sid, I'm really not like this, I swear…"

Looking at her in the eye, Sid could sense the anxiety. "It's okay, Erica. Take it easy. Just go get some hot tea or something." He nudged her gently towards the exit. "I'll send the body traces to someone and make sure they get it to you."

Erica thanked him quietly and with her arms wrapped around her shoulders, she walked out the autopsy room. The elevator's emptiness was exposed as its doors chimed open. Erica stepped inside and pressed the button to the third floor – the lounge. With dead eyes she stared at the levels illuminating as the lift descended, trying to endure the agonizing headache. What was going on with her…?

* * *

_**+ Here you go - my first written piece. love it? hate it? wanna know what happens next? reviews pleasee...:)**_


	2. Score Points For The Detective

**+ Behind Her Smile  
**+ chapter two: 'Score Points For The Detective'

* * *

_"Go to hell," she sneered through her blood-crusted lips. In utter rage he slapped her once more. _

_"Whose gonna save you now, huh?" He taunted. "Who?" _

_Her face pounding with pain, she turned towards him. She bit hard onto her bottom lip as she tried to struggle free. He refused to release her. The pregnant silence was once again broken by her bloodcurdling screams, her cries for help. Her eyes glistening with tears, she continued to curse at him as he hovered over her, gazing at down to what he was been doing for the past two hours. Scratches on her temple, caused by his fingernails; saliva dripping from her mouth, caused by her snarls; bruises on her cheeks, caused by his punches. _

_"I want you," He breathed into her ears. "Why won't you let me love you?" _

* * *

With files concerning a 27-year-old rape victim in her hand, Stella Bonasera strode down the halls in search for Mac, with her wild curls trailing after hair. They had just received consent to reopen a case that stumped them almost a year ago, and as excited as she was Stella needed to inform Mac pronto. He hated being the last one to know such things, and she, knowing how daunting Mac gets, hated it too. Assuming to herself that he might be in the lounge, she approached the elevator doors and pressed the 'down' button. Automatically the doors slid open, resulting in her first encounter with the lab's newest recruit. She entered the elevator beaming, and Erica felt her spirits lift again.

"Hey, I'm Stella. Stella Bonasera," she chirped, shaking Erica's hand. "It's great to finally meet you! Erica, right?"

"Yeah, Erica. Donovan."

"Right. So how's this place treating you? Hopefully it's not too hectic," she said, watching the doors close in front of them.

Erica shook her head, chuckling. "No, don't worry about it. I'm having a lot of fun, actually. Everyone here is so nice. And the ambiance is just so calm."

Stella responded with a chortle. "Well it's the holidays. Usually around this time of year murderers and psycho killers are more forgiving. Trust me, you haven't seen anything yet. When the bodies start coming in, everyone is heated, up and everything's just chaotic."

Erica winced. Not at the remark, but at the sudden jolt of pain that struck her head. Stella's face softened at this reaction.

"Oh, I'm sorry," she added quickly. "I didn't mean to scare you, especially on your first day –-"

"Nuh uh, no," Erica mumbled, squeezing her eyes shut and furrowing her brows. "It's not you, it's my head." She decided to let it out. "I've been getting a terrible headache all morning…I'm not so sure what it is, though…"

The elevator halted and the doors opened to the third floor lounge. Stella led Erica out by the hand, pausing by the lounge entrance to feel her forehead.

"It's not a fever," Stella thought out loud.

Erica shook her head, eyes still closed. Stella tilted her head to the side, eyes nailed on her and inquired for a moment. Taking Erica by the hand again she led her through the glass doors and sat her down on the sofa. Recognizing its softness, Erica allowed herself to fall back against the burgundy couch's back rest as Stella opened up drawers and racked through the lounge's aspirin supply. Erica opened her eyes slowly and watched lazily, fiddling with the padlock charm on her silver bracelet.

"Here you go," Stella whispered. Her soothing voice calmed Erica like a baby. Taking the pill from Stella's fingers and grasping her fingers around a hot cup of herbal tea, she thanked her. Stella returned it with a smile. As she watched Erica gulp down the pill she assured her that she could just go home anytime she started to feel worse.

"No, no," Erica insisted. "I want to be here. I'll be fine Stella, thanks."

Stella opened her mouth to respond but was interrupted by a voice she knew too well calling out her name.

"Mac! There you are," she said. "The files for the Jersey rape case are on table."

Erica looked over her shoulder and met eyes with her boss, who grinned at her as he thanked Stella.

"Erica," he started, looking through the contents of the yellow folder he picked up. "Are you ready for your first assignment on the field?"

Stella glanced at Erica nervously as she watched her take another sip of tea before setting it on the coffee table.

"Yes, please. I am," Erica replied, attempting to sound as enthusiastic as she felt. She was desperate for action, and the only way to get rid of her headache was to set her mind on something else.

She got to her feet and spun around to face Mac, who smiled at her eagerness.

"We just received reports of a discovered DOA in a nightclub down in East Village. We need you to help out Dr. Sheldon Hawkes, who is at the scene already. Detective Donald Flack is downstairs and he'll be the one to escort you to the scene."

Erica nodded and placed a hand on Stella's arm. "Thanks again," she whispered.

Stella gave her a wink. "Have fun, kiddo."

Both she and Mac watched Erica as she ambled out the lounge and into the elevator. Gesturing the folder towards the closing elevator doors, Mac turned to Stella with a half smile. Stella grinned back. "Well….what do you think?"

Mac nodded approvingly as he started towards the door. "So far, pretty impressive. I have a feeling she's going to spur up a lot of excitement in our unit."

* * *

Leaned back on the car door of his silver SUV, Donald Flack allowed himself to muse as he waited for his fellow investigator to arrive. She's a sweetheart, Hawkes told him before he left for the scene. A ball of energy, Mac said. A total fox, Danny asserted, later mentioning that she had a "fine-ass ass." So far, he liked what he heard. Flipping through the pages of his small memo book, he exhaled deeply. The cool city air brushed against his face as he slipped his memo book back into his pocket. With a majority of his life taking place in this city he knew best, the winter breeze was anything but a threat. It was silk to his skin.

Interrupting the parking lot stillness was the sound of heels clicking against the pavement. Flack straightened himself and looked up; jerking his hand forward in response to Erica's extended one.

"Detective Donald Flack, right? I'm Erica Donovan," Erica introduced herself, shaking his hand.

Wow, warm, she noticed.

Her hand's warm, Flack thought. "Yeah, it's just Don. Or Flack," he responded. "It's good to meet you."

He retrieved his car keys from his coat pocket and unlocked the car doors. "Should we get going?"

Erica answered with a nod and thanked him as he unlatched the door for her.

"So where's the scene again?" She inquired as Flack helped himself into the car and started the engine.

"Umm.." he pondered out loud while he veered onto the road. "In the Lagoon nightclub in Alphabet City, down in East Village. A young woman was found with barely any clothes on in one of the VIP rooms."

"A rape vic, huh."Erica gazed at the passing sidewalks as the car continued down the street.

"Yep."

Flack dared himself to take quick glances at her as she sat quietly. Once more he started to contemplate. A sweetheart, sure. Ball of energy…could use some work. A fox? A smile played on his lips as he turned and looked ahead at the approaching stoplight. Most definitely. Sadly, he wasn't too quick to catch a good sight of the ass. Guess it had to wait.

"What's the smile for, detective?"

Flack screeched the car to a stop at the red light. He continued his stare ahead, utterly embarrassed. Erica raised her eyebrow and smirked. She turned away, inviting Flack's eyes to lie upon her once more.

"So…today's kinda chilly, isn't it?" he faltered, determined to start a conversation.

"Sure," Erica replied with a mocking sense of indifference. Whenever a guy talks about the weather, it means there is something else on his mind. Erica scoffed quietly at this assumption, all the while admiring Flack for his shyness. And why is it that she has the sudden urge to flirt? He is rather cute, she thought. She knew she was going to like working with him.

Flack, on the other hand, couldn't help but feel intimidated by her lack of interest. But he loved her confidence. She was the silent kind, but the vibe he felt was irresistible. He strived to continue the discussion.

"So um…how's your first day been so far?"

Erica turned to him. Better, she decided. He's getting more personal.

"Well, this morning I had this awful headache" _Had_. She realized her headache was suddenly gone. And it was all thanks to this one hot detective for distracting her. Hot. Nah, she pondered. She wasn't going to let it go down that route that easy. He was _decent_.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Don't tell me it still hurts."

"Nope, Stella cleared it up for me." They met glances and Erica shot him a quick smile.

Wow, thought Flack, returning his eyes to the road. Hopefully the ass was going to be just as perfect as that smile.

Deciding to give him the time of day, Erica took her turn to speak. "So Flack, tell me about yourself."

"Where should I start?" Flack questioned.

"Okay…well, where do you hail from?"

"From here actually. Lived here my entire life. How about you?"

"Trenton. New Jersey. No where interesting."

Chuckling, Flack smiled at her. "I'm sure it's not that much of a bore." The car drew to a halt by the curb.

"Oh, never mind, we're here. I guess we're going to have to continue this conversation some other time." He eyed her.

She curled her lips into a smirk. "I guess so."

* * *

The sound of sirens and the sight of yellow crime scene tape greatly disrupted the stillness of the winter day. With a slow stride Erica entered the bleak nightclub. Continuing towards the staircase, she quickly evaluated the scene around her, glancing from one club employee's face to the next. Some were seated by tables; some were behind the counters questioned by police. After reaching the next level Erica was directed by an officer to a dimly lit room. Sheldon Hawkes had his back to her; his figure crouched over the body.

"Hey Hawkes."

He looked over his shoulder and greeted her back.

"Anything I missed?" Erica inquired as she kneeled down beside him. She scooted closer to him, minding the shoe imprint marked as evidence 3.The victim was indeed young, her plump lips too blue and her cheeks too pale. Her blonde hair was sprawled all over her face, and her dead eyes stared with intensity at the ceiling above. The white undergarments she had on were torn and smudged with dirt.

"The attacker stripped our victim and left her clothes over there." Hawkes nodded towards a metallic-specked table. Crumpled up and so carelessly tossed underneath it was her outfit. Erica made out a black tank top and a denim jacket.

"Package them and send them off to trace," she said, signaling to a nearby crime scene technician. "How did she die?"

Hawked pointed to a laceration above the victim's left eyebrow, deep and blood-rimmed.

"I'm thinking from intracranial bleeding, from blunt force trauma."

Slipping her fingers through the powdery interiors of her gloves, Erica furrowed her eyebrows as she leaned in to examine the wound.

"The attacker couldn't have caused such a contusion with his bare hands. Do we have the murder weapon?" She looked up at Hawkes for an answer as he stood up, shaking his head.

"I think he took it with him."

Flack strutted into the room, waving his memo book in the air.

"Someone identified our DOA. Her name was Candice Bradshaw. Seventeen years old. Attended Murray High, came with her friends last night to party and didn't leave with them. One of them claimed she was with a guy."

Hawkes raised an eyebrow. "Our vic's hookup could be the murderer."

Erica shook her head in disappointment as she tore her eyes away from her associate and gazed down at Candice's pastel visage. Too young, she thought. She condemned the sick bastard for ending her life the way he did. With a sigh, she pushed herself off her knees.

"Let's get to work."

Catching her eye, Flack smiled, in attempt to console her. Erica felt her cheeks burn as she shot him a quick grin, and looked away in search of her photography kit. Score points for the detective. Digging through the briefcase for film canisters, she bit her lip as she felt them pull into a smile.

* * *

Erica shut the car door behind her and pulled up her sleeve to look at the time.

"It's almost twelve," came Flack's voice from beside her. "There's a café across the street, and I'm getting kinda hungry." He jammed his hands into his coat pocket, looked down at his shoes and pursed his lips, hoping that remark sounded inviting enough.

Erica let out chuckle. She tucked her hair behind her ears as she rolled her eyes towards him. "Are you proposing we have lunch together?"

Flack looked up to survey the snow-brimmed parking lot before meeting gazes with her. "Well, aren't you starving?"

Such blue eyes, she marveled. "As a matter of fact –"

"Erica, babe! There you are!"

The two broke away from each other and saw a man with hair as dark as Erica's and a rugged façade approach. He pulled Erica's arm around him and gave her a kiss on the forehead. Erica yielded to his grasp, but attempted to look away. Flack's stare hardened. Was she looking away from this guy or from him? He eyed the man, who sported a nylon snorkel parka and faded wrinkled jeans. Who the hell was this punk?

The man turned to Flack and gave him a crooked smile. At least he seemed polite.

Flack held his hand out with raised eyebrows. "Detective Donald Flack. NYPD."

The stranger returned his gesture. "Hey detective, it's good to meet you."

"You too. And who were you again?"

"Oh, sorry, my fault," the man scoffed. "It's Nate Barsotti." He nodded towards Erica, who continued her gaze elsewhere. "She's with me. I'm her boyfriend."

* * *

_**+ Thanks to everyone who reviewed my first chap :) hopefully this next one continued to entice you guys a bit more! For the DL shippers – sorry for the lack of DL in this chap. but there's plenty more fluff coming along so don't worry!! reviews reviews reviews:D **_


	3. Now What?

**+ Behind Her Smile  
**+ chapter three: 'Now What?'

* * *

_"NOO!" He watched as her face scrunched up with anguish. "Please, just let me go!" _

"_And why would I do that, baby?" he sighed as he stroked her sweat-patched hair. Her excessive trembling did nothing but boost his confidence. _

_"Why are you scared? It's only me." _

_Finding the courage to look back deep into his eyes, she retorted, "I don't know you anymore." _

_Again he smacked her, this time with such passionate force that sent blood spattering on the floor. Eyes nailed on her, he couldn't resist. He leaned in to make the kill. _

_

* * *

_

The hustle and bustle of the downtown New York precinct was nothing but haze in the background for Flack as he made his way to his desk. Ears deaf to the voices of fellow officers and the clanging of jail bars, he yielded to his head as it exploded with questions, screaming out condemnations. _Of course she would have a boyfriend! What, you actually would think a newcomer like her would be stupid enough to find herself alone in a city like this? You idiot. You could've at least asked her from the start so you wouldn't be feeling the way you are now. And why the hell would you care anyways? You just met - it's not like you're hopelessly in love with her…you were just interested in her ass!_

Flack slammed his car keys and memo book into the upper drawer of his desk, chucked his trench coat onto the back of his chair and sat down. Sighing heavily, he ran his fingers through his dark hair and switched on his computer. Why _was _he feeling this way? He stared at the blank monitor for answers. They both just met, and she's no doubt an amazing investigator. Yeah, he protested in his head, but so is everyone else. What makes her different from the rest? Okay, sure, he might be physically attracted to her, but it's not like he didn't go all goo-goo eyes when he first saw Lindsay and Stella. Why does it feel so different now? He scratched his head. Could it be…?

Flack shook his head wildly and rubbed his eyes. "Shut up," he murmured to himself with disgust as he spun to face his computer. He typed in his user name and password and waited for the desktop to load_. Cut the West Side Story crap, Flack. You gonna break out into a song now or what? Love at first sight my ass. You're being pathetic_.

* * *

Erica strode into the vacant crime lab, files in her hand and her mind set elsewhere. Laying the files onto the lit table she sighed, replaying the previous hour in her head for the millionth time. She didn't know what hurt most – seeing the look on Flack's face as her boyfriend pulled her close, or having Nate confront her about her coldness towards him. A lump of guilt manifested in her throat. Sighing once more, she gathered her dark locks back into a ponytail and approached the supply cabinet. As she returned to the table with a ruler and a magnifier in her hand Danny appeared at the laboratory entrance, greeting Erica with a wink.

Noticing the lost expression on her face, Danny thought he'd try to start a conversation in hope of raising her spirits.

"Not having the ideal first day, are we?"

Erica smiled at him as he dumped from a paper bag a white bloodstained tee-shirt and jeans on the same table across from her.

"No, it's not that. I've got a lot on my mind lately."

Nodding, Danny unfolded the shirt and flattened it on the table. An urge to ask his new associate what was bothering her teased him, but the fear of seeming too pushy overpowered it.

"Ah, okay. Well then we can talk about something else."

"Danny, there you are."

Danny snorted as Lindsay sauntered into the lab.

"Hey Erica. What you got there?" she questioned as she stopped by Erica, with her hands jammed into her lab coat pockets.

"My first piece of evidence," Erica answered with mock excitement. "A photograph of a shoe imprint."

Lindsay laughed. "Well, consider it better than my first. A plastic container filled of tiger feces."

With Erica's laugh in the background, Lindsay switched her attention to Danny, who raised an eyebrow as she approached him.

"Am I on your radar today, Montana?" He asked her as she snaked her arms around him. "You always manage to find me everywhere today, it seems."

"Yeah well, it's not like I have anything better to do."

Danny laughing at her sense of indifference, Lindsay turned back to Erica and rested her cheek against Danny's chest.

"How has your first day been so far?"

Not taking her eyes off the imprint of what she guessed to be a hiking boot of some sort, Erica replied, "Besides the traffic Flack and I got stuck in, everything's been going pretty well."

"Good. In that case we should celebrate," Danny responded, releasing Lindsay from his grasp and resting his weight against the table. "Join us for dinner and some drinks tonight. Just a small get-to-know-each other session."

Erica beamed at the couple in front of her. " You know what, I'd love to. That sounds great. Hopefully a couple of drinks are enough to remove the image of rotting bodies in my head."

Danny and Lindsay chuckled in unison, and Lindsay returned her gaze to him, her hand clutching her hip and the other resting on the table.

"First you look at her ass, and now you're asking her out on a date in front of me? How low can you ever go, Messer?"

Danny gave her a childlike smirk. "So you are jealous."

Lindsay rolled her eyes and shook her head, with a defeated smile on her face. "By us, you have better meant you and me."

With that Lindsay took Danny's chin between her fingers and pulled him into a deep kiss. Pulling away for air, Lindsay noticed Danny's eye twinkle as he peered into hers.

"Not that I'm complaining," he whispered. "But what was that for?"

"To make sure the only ass you'll be looking at tonight is mine."

Lindsay laughed as Danny pulled her in, clutching her tight. Meeting her gaze lovingly, Danny couldn't help but still feel amazed at himself for who he managed to make his own not more than a year and a half back. He touched her lips lightly with his forefinger.

"I pinky promise."

"Lindsay?"

Danny released Lindsay again as she straightened her coat and walked towards a young lab technician by the doorway, with papers in her hand.

"Thanks, Chloe," Lindsay said as she was handed the documents. Flipping to the one tabbed with Adam's messy scrawl, reading _Nightclub rape case – Unknown male DNA results. (Send to Mac immediately!), _Lindsay scanned the graphs for the answer she was looking for. With a concerned look, she walked towards Danny.

"I have to get this to Mac, and he might need me to work on some stuff so I don't know if I'll see you for the rest of the day." She nodded towards Erica, who still had her head down and concentration on the photo. "Fill her in on the details for tonight, okay?"

She reached up and gave Danny a quick kiss on the cheek.

"I'll see you back home, Linds," he called after her as she sauntered quickly out the door.

Danny turned back and noticed a grin on Erica's face.

"We're together, by the way," Danny stammered as he pointed after Lindsay. "Just in case you haven't noticed." He tossed in a smile and was replied with Erica's chortle.

"I'm not blonde, and I'm not stupid," Erica said, grinning. "So you guys live together?

"Yeah," Danny said, reminiscing back nine months ago to the night he asked her. She jumped into his arms, oblivious to the stares around them from the other customers of the very chic (and expensive) _Chez Pierre_. "I was scared it would make things complicated, truthfully."

"But things turned out fine," Erica pointed out.

"Yeah," sighed Danny, crossing his arms. "I'm glad."

Silence crept in between them as two more smiles were exchanged.

"So, um," Danny started, ruffling his hair furiously. "Are you with anyone?"

Erica exhaled deeply, tucking her asymmetrical fringes behind her ears. "Yeah. But it's complicated. It's been complicated for the last two years, sadly."

"Oh," was Danny's reply. He scratched the back of his neck, quietly mad at himself for opening such a personal doorway in their conversation. "I'm sorry for bringing it up then."

"No, it's fine." Erica waved it off. "Really. Sorry, I didn't mean to make it sound so tragic. I meant complicated job-wise. He has his thing and I have mine, and time gets scarce and whatever."

Danny smiled. "But you're both still in love."

"In love enough to be eager to make it work."

Instantly a twang of guilt shot through her heart. The thought of Flack soon returned, along with the anger for herself. It wasn't Nate's fault, and it certainly wasn't Flack's. It was hers for leading him on, making him think that she was interested. Well, she was. With that another jolt of guilt struck. She loved Nate, and she liked Flack. Now what? She bit her lip. She was going to forget about Flack, that's what. Despite her feelings, despite their chemistry, despite everything. She and him were to be friends, and that was that.

* * *

"Right here in this city."

Mac gazed out the window of his office that overlooked the snowcapped buildings of downtown New York.

"So if the semen in the vic's body back in Trenton matched what we found with Bradshaw here, then we're closer than we think, Mac," responded Stella, who was seated on the other side of Mac's desk. "This is good news."

"Not if the attacker decides to strike again," Mac opposed.

"What's going on? It seems that he intends to move from one state to another," Lindsay thought out loud from the corner of the room.

"If so, then this is just the beginning," said Mac, as he sat down and rifled through the papers Lindsay handed to him moments ago. "We have to stop this guy before he goes after another girl, or before he moves out the city. Sheldon's working the case…Erica's on the evidence at the moment, right?"

Lindsay nodded.

"Good," Mac continued. "Lindsay, I want you to inform those two that we have a double case to work on, now that we have a link. I'll also remove Danny from his current case – we need as much help as we can get if we're going to stop this guy as quickly as possible."

* * *

**_+ There you have it – the third chapter finally uploaded. I sincerely apologize for the long wait. I had this chapter done a while ago but my internet broke down on me so I couldn't upload it. :( hopefully it won't happen again…_ **


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